


send me home

by faerietell



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, M/M, Mystery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:24:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21720250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerietell/pseuds/faerietell
Summary: Ten years ago, Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha. Now Naruto chases him across the earth, Sakura forges her own path, and Kakashi is forced to face his demons.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 13
Kudos: 71





	1. homecoming

The pale yellow light flickered once. Then twice. No one else noticed, not with the other lights carefully hung up in the room, but he watched it carefully. It pulsed beneath the stained glass, a dead fly caught beneath the surface. Dead for months. Kakashi had seen it the last time he stood in the Hokage's office.

“Hatake? Hatake? Are you even listening to me? Your Sharingan.”

Kakashi’s glance tore back to Tsunade, and he slid down his headband, smiling guilelessly. He hadn’t realized he had turned it on.

“Of course, Tsunade-sama,” he maintained his smile. “I thought I saw something outside.”

She stared at him, frowning. He remained still, unsure of what she was looking for and what she had already found. To most, Tsunade was known for her sharp temper, terrible luck, and legendary strength. It was easy for her enemies and allies alike to forget about the sharp mind that had developed countless medical and torture jutsus.

“Your mission was clearly a success,” she said after a moment. “Even if your report is shit. What is this, Hatake?” She picked a section and read aloud. “Reached Kiri. Undercover. Killed enemies.”

He shrugged. “It was a months-long mission, Hokage-sama. I thought I’d spare you the details and paperwork.”

She rolled her eyes, rising to her feet. He stiffened but didn’t move. It was unlike her to move from her desk, not when it established her position of authority. Tsunade was a woman, shorter than most men and unpopular, and everything proved a disadvantage to her. She never let go of higher ground, and she never circled around the desk.

“I let this go on too long,” she said.

“Sorry, Hokage-sama?”

Tsunade sighed. “I let you punish yourself too long. Who do you think will be Hokage after me, Kakashi?”

He decided to ignore her first comment. “Naruto, I assume.”

She barked a laugh. “I doubt Naruto will ever return.”

“Shikamaru then,” said Kakashi. “He has a good mind for strategy.”

“If he ever got off his ass,” said Tsunade. “No, you know as well as I do that you’re the only viable candidate for the next Hokage.” She touched his shoulder, and he wasn’t able to control his reactions enough not to flinch. “And you’ve gone feral.”

“Hardly, Hokage-sama,” he said. “Perhaps you’re blowing this up.”

Kakashi had no desire to be a glorified paper-pusher anyway.

“I don’t need to check your records to know every mission you’ve taken in the past ten years have been A or S-ranked missions. It was my fault for letting it go on for so long… but the village needed the money.”

Kakashi sighed. “Someone needs to take them. I’m a better candidate than most.”

“You’re wasted on them,” Tsunade told him sharply.

“And then what do you want to do?” He demanded. “Sarutobi’s solution? Make me a jounin-sensei? Find another trio of overpowered, overly-confident children for them to turn traitor?”

“Sakura didn’t turn traitor,” Tsunade reminded him. “And Naruto… It’s complicated. You know that.”

He bit back his response. Uchiha Sasuke was a traitor, a murderer, chasing his brother across the world. Naruto had decided to chase him, no matter was his village had asked of him, and that was as good as a betrayal. Sakura may be no traitor, but after a few years of training under Tsunade, she had quit. She was as weak as he had presumed her to be.

Murderer. Desperate. Weak.

“And don’t you dare raise your voice at me, Hatake,” Tsunade added, voice steely.

Kakashi only bowed his head, savage and unrepentant.

She sighed again. “No, I won’t leave you to fail a few teams of genin. The fact is, we need you more with a different case. Go to the hospital — and if I hear you don’t, I really will make you a jounin-sensei. Come in tomorrow at seven for briefing. Don’t be late.”

“Hai.”

❊

Her lipstick had smudged after a few hours, but it only took a few seconds in front of the bathroom mirror to clean it up. Satisfied, she stuck the lipstick back in her purse and stepped into the corridor. Regardless of how many hours she worked or how long the shift, Yamanaka Ino never looked anything short of impeccable.

“He’s in 205?” She checked with the nurse.

“Yes, Yamanaka-san.”

She hesitated outside the door, but this was her job. Few ever treated the copy-nin. Sometimes Sakura would, a year or two after Sasuke had left. He must have indulged her out of some team loyalty, but Sakura was no longer a med-nin, and Hatake Kakashi no longer came in for medical treatment. Not when he was conscious anyway.

“Hello, Kakashi-san,” she smiled brightly at him, reluctant to call him sensei like she might with Kurenai. He didn't feel like any mentor of hers, and she owed him no more respect than any other shinobi. “Are you ready to get started?”

He lifted his head. Even with only one dark eye unobscured beneath a shaggy head of gray hair, he was handsome. The ANBU uniform did little to hide the sharp lines of his body and the breadth of his shoulders. Not that Ino was interested in dangerous, unstable men.

He didn’t answer, only offering a false eye crinkle.

Ino was used to treating ANBU though. That was why Tsunade had given her this assignment. “You’ve been away a while,” she chattered, slipping on her gloves. “We’re going to start with a chakra exam. Be still. Lee asked out Tenten, you know.”

“Gai’s students?” Kakashi asked, bored.

Ino placed one hand on each shoulder, chakra emanating from her fingertips. Slowly, she had to treat this slowly. No missteps. “Yeah. You remember, right? The Gai-double and the one good with weapons?”

Kakashi hummed, eyes fluttering shut as her chakra threaded its way into his veins.

“Shizune and Genma went out a few months ago,” Ino added in a whisper. “A few fractured ribs. Bruises mostly. I see some self-healed cuts.”

“This was an extended mission,” he said.

“Well, they weren’t really going out,” she began to heal the fractured ribs, more painful than she had to make it. Hopefully, her gossip and the dull pain would be enough to distract Kakashi from the chakra creeping up his neck. “Friends with benefits. Anyway, some feelings developed on Genma’s side, but Shizune didn’t want anything serious.”

“Not like Genma,” Kakashi commented.

Ino didn’t smirk, but she wanted to. This was almost always a successful method. ANBU and jonin who had been away too long couldn’t help but want to know about their friends and family. Even Kakashi.

He grunted when his ribs cracked.

“Sorry,” Ino smiled, entering his mind. “Almost done. Anyway, the break-up was crazy…”

She kept up a steady chatter of gossip, slipping deeper within him. Into his fractured mind. Darkness emanated from every corner of his psyche. His father. Two people she didn’t recognize, one an Uchiha. Sasuke and Naruto, darkness and light. The last ten years, death and death and death. A child, smiling up at him. His hands, damp with blood.

Sakura, maybe fifteen, sobbing and shoving him. Her concentration flickered, and he knew. He _knew._

He shoved her back against the wall, hand wrapped around her throat. “What the fuck were you doing just now?”

Ino gasped for breath, lungs heaving. She gestured frantically at him, unable to speak. His grip tightened for just a second. 

Then he let go. “Answer me.”

She touched her throat briefly, certain it was bruised. Another ten seconds and she would slip into the darkness. Another twenty, and she would be dead.“I was only following Tsunade-sama’s orders. She wanted to know exactly how screwed up you were. I’m a Yamanaka, Kakashi-san. I’m no average med-nin. I’m a psychologist.”

“And exactly how screwed up am I, Ino-chan?” Kakashi asked. “Are you satisfied now? Will you take me off the roster?”

“Get out,” Ino said, pointing at the door. She turned away, carefully arranging her notes on the table, so he wouldn't see her limbs terse with rage. The gleam in her eyes. She wouldn't give anything to him unless she had to. When she turned back to the room, he was gone.

Depressed. Anxious. Traumatized. But no more than she expected. She lingered on the last memory, wondering why it stuck with the betrayal and deaths, with his grief and misery. But she wasn’t likely to get an answer from him.

❊

He was better at this than he expected. Although he always had a talent for drawing, an understanding of anatomy and ink, people rarely enjoyed what he drew. They were disturbed by what they found on paper, what he could see in them. Perhaps they were only disturbed by themselves, by their ugly self-portraits. His art may have been accurate, but it wasn’t usually considered beautiful.

When it came to tattoos, people liked being disturbed. Haunted. They wanted to take their insides and stamp it onto flesh. Sai found that he liked the challenge.

“Do you take walk-ins?” The woman asked, leaning over the counter.

“I don’t have any appointments right now,” he said. Most people were ugly, but she was uglier than most. “I don’t think you want a tattoo from me though.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“You’re very ugly,” Sai explained. “I’m not sure why. Your proportions are adequate, and your facial features are symmetric. Maybe it’s the pink hair. Pink isn’t a very natural color. Do you dye it?”

“No,” said the woman, more amused than offended. “Pink is my natural hair color. And I don’t mind what you think of me. It’s not me I want tattooed on me.”

“Really? That’s very popular.”

“I know,” she smiled so gently that she was, for a moment, less ugly. Still hideous but less so. “There’s a boy I have a picture of. I want to capture him in a very specific way, and I was told that you're good at looking at people and understanding them.”

He frowned. “It’s more difficult from a photo. Can you bring him in?”

She shook her head. “I’ll never see him again.”

Ah. He couldn’t tell immediately from her clothes or gait, but the slender muscle and callused hands made sense now. She had once been a ninja or was one now. It wasn’t usual for nin not to wear their headbands, but perhaps she was civilian-born.

The grief reeked off her.

He held out his hand, and she silently took the photo, pointing at one of the boys. Even from the photo, he understood. “You were less ugly then.”

She only smiled. “Can you make it like a fox?”

“Yes,” said Sai.

❊

“Fuck.”

He smelled of alcohol, and his head was pounding. He stumbled out of bed, peeling his clothes off as he went. He had enough time for a shower before his meeting with Tsunade.

“I told you so,” Pakkun said sleepily from the bed.

“Shut up, Pakkun,” he called back, shutting the bathroom door. The hot water did nothing to sooth him, and one of his ribs still weren’t properly healed. With Ino’s chakra still buzzing in his system, he was afraid to touch it. He didn’t want to know what she had seen before seeing Sakura had stopped her.

Drying roughly with a towel, he picked out a general jonin uniform and slipped it on. “What time is it?”

“You don’t have a clock,” Pakkun pointed out.

This was true.

He squinted out at the sky, and the sun was yet to reach midpoint. Before noon, still very early in the day. He shushinned into her office.

“Late,” said Tsunade, not glancing up from her paperwork.

He glanced at her clock. “Sorry, Tsunade-sama. You see, there was this grumpy dog… ”

“I don’t want to hear about that ugly mutt of yours,” said Tsunade flatly. “I hear you harassed my medic last night.”

“I hear you ordered her to creep around my head,” Kakashi smiled.

“Yes, and I have every right to know exactly how traumatized you are,” said Tsunade.

She did. Anger coiled beneath his skin, but there was nothing he could or should do. He had pledged himself as a weapon of the village, and the wielder had every right to know how sharp his blades were.

“You have two missions,” she extended her hand, holding a scroll. “One is to rest. While you were busy taking every highly ranked mission available, your peers have been living their lives. Kids. Marriage. So on. Believe it or not, Konoha has been in peace. Spend some time with old friends. Spar. Ditch the bill. Whatever else you do in your spare time.”

“And the other?” Kakashi accepted the scroll but didn’t open it.

“Konoha police have been investigating…. well, you know Root.”

Kakashi nodded. He knew very little, and that very little was still far more than most. It was a secret subdivision of ANBU.

“Something’s going on,” said Tsunade darkly. “I don’t know what, and I don’t like it. Your subterfuge skills may come in very handy with this. You’ll be working with the Konoha police department.”

Someone shushinned in a few feet behind him. “Shishou.”

“You hardly have to call me that anymore, Sakura,” Tsunade’s expression softened.

Kakashi glanced back. It seemed she was still in possession of ninjutsus even after quitting, but she clearly wasn’t a shinobi. Not now.

“Kakashi,” she greeted. “It’s been a long time.”

Nearly seven years. “Sakura.”

“Anyway,” said Tsunade. “Detective Haruno will be your contact in the police, and you’ll be assisting her with this investigation. You defer to her, Hatake. She’ll update you on the case, and I expect weekly progress reports on both your missions.”

Kakashi froze, eyes darting back to her. She smiled sweetly.

“And I assume she’s also my babysitter,” he drawled.

Tsunade shrugged. “Call it what you want, but yes, Sakura will be keeping an eye out on you. Two years of training under me is four under any other. Don’t be mistaken. Sakura remains a very capable shinobi. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

“Good. Dismissed.”


	2. blizzard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was very little of him to read. Only his bare fingers, the skin above his mask, and one dark eye. Feral, Tsunade had told her. Too much time killing. 
> 
> Sakura could believe it.

Smoke spiraled up toward the blue desert sky, and Naruto tentatively dipped his toes in. Suna was hot and dry, and he couldn’t believe the bubbling hot springs would bring him any relief. He’d prefer a long, cold shower, but Temari had insisted that he couldn’t stay at the palace and not visit the hot springs. 

He sunk into the warmth after a few minutes, head dropping back against the stone. While it did little for the heat, the water alleviated the old aches in his back and the soreness from his legs. Only twenty-two and yet he felt like an old man. 

“How’s the water?” Gaara asked, sitting on the edge in full uniform. 

“Hot,” said Naruto truthfully. “You’re not gonna come in?” 

Gaara shook his head. “No, Temari likes it more than I.”

Naruto couldn’t blame him. Drawing a deep breath, he ducked beneath the water, eyes tightly shut. The springs weren’t too deep, but he could wade farther into the middle where he could stand straight and tall without coming to the surface. But he sat at the bottom, hugging his knees. 

Seeing Gaara for the first time in two years was something in between the ache of an old wound and the hope he always preached. So many friends he left behind on this search, and the more time passed by, the more he wondered if it was really worth it at all. 

He broke the surface when he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. 

“Three minutes,” said Gaara.

Naruto grinned. “I can go up till five.”

He swam back to the edge, resting his forearms against the surface. “So, how come you’re here? I know you’re pretty busy.” 

“I didn’t want us to be overheard,” said Gaara. He was quiet a few moments longer, and Naruto was patient enough to allow this. He hadn’t been always, but he was starting to get used to his own company. Him and Kuramaa anyway.

“Are you sure you want to find Sasuke?” Gaara asked. “He won’t be how you once knew him.” 

“I won’t be like how he knew me either,” said Naruto. “It’s okay. Tell me if you can, Gaara.” 

He nodded. “I don’t know where Sasuke is, but there’s been reports of Itachi in Suna’s borders near Konoha. Still in Suna though. Our people are told not to near him. Itachi has always been Konoha’s problem, not ours.” 

Only Suna’s borders. So close to him. He had wandered from Kirigakure to Iwagakure, hunting every trace of Sasuke. Sometimes he had been close. Once, they had even spoken. But he knew in his bones that his search was almost over. 

“I’ll bring him home,” Naruto whispered. _Dattebayo_. 

“I believe you,” said Gaara kindly. 

  
  


❊

  
  


Haruno Sakura had been dreading this all week. She had been so determined to bury her ghosts where they belonged: in her past. She had refused to be the girl left behind, the remnants of Team Seven, Konoha’s fucking pity story. But Kakashi was a walking, breathing ghost, and his one-eyed gaze haunted her. 

She shivered as if he was still here. 

After Tsunade’s quick briefing, Kakashi had wanted to begin right away. She told him she had too much on her workload, and they could meet in her office tomorrow. It was true, but all she had done after seeing him was curl in bed and try to sleep. She didn’t know what Tsunade was thinking assigning Kakashi under her.

He would never respect her, and her position as a detective was unstable enough without him there to doubt her. Sakura had _earned_ it with no kekkai genkai or nepotism, but much of the village were convinced Konoha’s Military Police should be run by no other than an Uchiha.

A man with their eye was only a threat to her. 

She heard him enter through the window. “Tea?”

“Sure, Sakura-chan,” he said genially. 

She wasn’t much of a med-nin now, no matter how Tsunade talked her up, but she was still good enough to regulate her heartbeat. Fifty-five beats per minute, occasionally flickering up and down so Kakashi wouldn’t catch on.

Because she felt like a rabbit.

She started the kettle before properly turning around. “Nice set-up, isn’t it?”

Kakashi didn’t look away from her, sizing her up like she did him. She hadn’t last evening, too nervous to look at him for more than a second. But she wouldn’t be the first to look away. He looked the same as he always did, perhaps a little skinnier after months away. It was difficult to tell beneath the vest and dark layers. 

There was very little of him to read. Only his bare fingers, the skin above his mask, and one dark eye. _Feral_ , Tsunade had told her. _Too much time killing._

Sakura could believe it. 

Kakashi did look away first, glancing quickly over the office. “Very nice. You did well. How does it pay?”

She was more nervous about how much he could read on her. “I can’t complain. Hardly dishes out as much as an S-ranked mission, but the job security is nice. I pay my bills.” 

He hummed and took a seat on the leather couch. “Who else is on this case?” 

“Shikamaru has been my jonin contact until now — you’ll be taking his place,” said Sakura over the whistling kettle. She began to pour the tea into two mugs. “Ibiki-san is also working closely with the team, but I’m placing you to continue our weekly meetings.” 

“He makes you nervous?”

Sakura feigned a smile. “I have better things to do. And I heard you two have a history.”

Kakashi bristled. Satisfaction curled around her chest — at last, she had been the one to get a reaction out of him. Immediately she rebuked herself. She wasn’t going to be as childish as to stoop to his level. Sakura was a professional. 

“Anyway,” Sakura continued, returning to the sitting area with the tea, carefully setting one down in front of him. “Izumo, you may recognize as a chunin. He transferred here about two years ago. Moegi. Shimon. You’ll meet them all eventually.” 

“A small team,” Kakashi commented. 

“It’s a high-profile case,” Sakura said. “Are you ready for a briefing?” 

He crinkled an eye at her. “Go on, Sakura-chan.”

“Sakura is fine,” she said sharply. “I’m not a child.”

He tilted his head to the side. “You’re very young.” 

“And you’re very old, jiji. I’m your equal, and you will speak to me as such.” 

“Very well, Sakura,” he only smiled again.

His good humor only left her more nervous. “As you’re aware, ROOT is an underground special ops organization similar to ANBU. Unlike ANBU, ROOT doesn’t report to the Hokage, and it exists within ANBU ranks.” 

“This has been true for a long while now. Why is it a problem now?” 

“ROOT, despite it’s more… questionable methods, has always served the Hokage and Konoha. During your most recent mission, this has changed. We’re seeing more and more mission failures, and we suspect Danzo will make a bid for power. Very soon.”

“For Hokage,” said Kakashi. “I see. Is this why Tsunade wanted me to work on this?”

“I don’t know,” said Sakura. “It’s not why I wanted you to work on this.”

His gaze sharpened. “You wanted me on this.” 

“It wasn’t my idea,” Sakura admitted. “But in the last few weeks… there are years of conspiracy to get through. To understand. And I’m confident the Uchihas were involved. Of course, I have no access to any living Uchihas.” 

“My Sharingan.” 

“Would you let me… take a look at it?” Sakura leaned forward.

Instead of sliding his headband up, he took it off altogether, leaving it on the coffee table between them. She sucked in a breath when he leaned forward too, only a few inches away from her face. Red glinted at her. “Are you sure you want to?” 

“You _won’t_ scare me.” She didn’t want to admit how much he already did. 

“Like I did before?”

Sakura hadn’t expected him to be brave enough to bring it up, but she should have known better. He wasn’t a hero, not like Naruto was a hero. He had few principles, but he stuck by them. Sakura was no one to him, and he afforded her no mercy or kindness.

Fine. She didn’t want anything from him anyway. 

“Do you want to talk about before, Kakashi?” She asked him softly. 

His face — or whatever little she could see of it — hardened. “Go ahead and look. Your Yamanaka friend played a little trick on me. No slipping into my mind, Sakura-chan.” 

She hadn’t known that, but she should have suspected Tsunade would want a psyche examination. She wondered what Ino had found. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

She placed her fingertips on either side of her temple, not touching him more than she needed to. It had been a while since she had done this, but the chakra surged to her fingers and into his ocular system. Although she remembered the chakra drain from the last time she treated him, it was still appalling. 

Last time, she had healed him too. This time, she didn’t bother.

Instead she surged deeper, searching out his cornea. 

“Can you cast a genjutsu?” Sakura asked. “Something simple.” 

Kakashi’s hands flew into a series of signs, and a few seconds later, she could hear the pitter-patter of rain in the distance. It hadn’t rained in weeks. 

There was no visible change in his Sharingan. 

“I’d like to do this again,” Sakura retreated a few seconds later. “But with you casting a genjutsu on someone else with your Sharingan.”

“What is this for?” Kakashi asked. “How relevant can my Sharingan be?”

Sakura exhaled. “I’ll show you.”

  
  


❊

  
  
  


He wanted to ask her, _what happened to you?_ To understand the years that had aged her, toned her arms but rounded her stomach. Her well-regulated heartbeat. Her green and gray apparel, civilian and absent of any sign of red.

She had fled from the life of a shinobi to investigate Konoha’s dirty roots? The shadows that crawled up its mighty trunk? 

But he didn’t have that kind of relationship with her, and truth was, he didn’t want it. He wanted to be rid of her, but their shared past prevented it. It didn’t matter how many years passed by without a word from the other. Neither of them could forget Sasuke’s betrayal. Recover from Naruto’s loss. 

They were nothing to each other but the people they had lost between them.

Did she ask the same questions he did? If he mentored Sasuke better, would he have stayed? If she had been kinder to Naruto, would he have hesitated?

Sakura was giving him a history lesson as they raced over Konoha’s rooftops. He couldn’t help but note her changes. She kept a relaxed pace, and she clearly had some training regimen but not one of a shinobi. Her hair was longer, but she kept them in the loose pigtails of her former mentor. She was pretty but not attractive. 

“ — a freak winter storm. It froze over the lake, but even years later, a few parts stayed frozen. A few genin found this after attempting water walking.” 

“What?” Kakashi asked as they reached the hospital. 

“You won’t believe me until I show you.” 

Sakura was right. 

In the morgue, behind a locked door in a room that didn’t exist in the directory, two bodies lied preserved. One, he didn’t recognize. The other, he did. Both had their eyes gouged out and were staring emptily at the ceiling. The ice had preserved them well, but he could see signs of decay. 

“I threw up,” Sakura whispered behind him, “when I first saw.” 

Kakashi had almost gotten sick himself. “Did you identify them both?” 

“Yes,” said Sakura. “We did. So you must understand why I’d be interested in recipients of transferred kekkai genkai. And why the pool I can study from is so limited.”

He glanced back at her, unable to look at them any longer. He didn’t ask for their identities, and she didn’t ask if he recognized either. 

“Tsunade put you in charge of this?” Kakashi asked, fists clenching. “Instead of Nara Shikaku? Morino Ibiki?”

“The job of the _police_ is to investigate Konoha’s own people,” said Sakura, stepping forward. “Not of ANBU. Not of other shinobi. Without separation, we can’t bring these two to justice. We can’t be fair.” 

“Who gives a _fuck_ about fair?” 

“Because _I_ want a trial. I want a precedent. I want people to meet justice rightfully, not just assassinated for a price. I don’t want Naruto to have to come into power and _kill_ people trying to undermine them left and right.” 

She was naive and foolish, and Kakashi couldn’t believe Tsunade would indulge her. Although the Hokage had always had a tender spot for her once student, Sakura was far too young and incompetent to lead this investigation. She had failed in the chunin exams as a child, only good for inspiring other boys and men to fight for her. She had failed as a med-nin, too soft to watch men die when she couldn’t save him. 

He would grant her these failures, but he wouldn’t tolerate her failing this. Failing them. 

“Naruto?” He asked her. “You abandoned Naruto.” 

“I abandoned Naruto?” Her voice pitched higher. “He abandoned _me_. I offered to betray our village only once before. For Sasuke. I would never do so again.”

“If you had gone with him, someone could have watched over him. Tempered him.”

“And what about _me?_ ” Sakura’s voice trembled. “What about what I want? Am I only good as Sasuke’s self-control? Naruto’s promise? And your… what? Reminder not to ever be human again? I won’t be someone’s babysitter. Not even his.” 

“Everyone has a purpose,” he met her gaze, level. 

“You fucking _mysognystic asshole,_ ” she hissed. 

“I care about Konoha,” Kakashi said. “It’s all I care for. I will serve Konoha until I die. So I won’t let you fuck this up just because Tsunade assigned you some pet project to raise your self-esteem.” 

For a second, he thought she would attack him. Her legs were tense, her weight shifted backwards, and her gaze torn with rage. But she straightened. Looked at the bodies and back at him. 

“I’m not like you,” said Sakura. “I grew up in this village as a civilian. I care about these people, and I work to serve them. But I’m like them. You’re… far gone. Tsunade thinks you should be the next Hokage. If anyone will do a disservice to Konoha, it’ll be you in a position of power. I only feel sorry for you, Kakashi.”

He nearly snapped. “ _Don’t_.” 

“Then don’t disrespect me,” she said. “Don’t act like you know me. And understand _I’m_ your superior, and I will report you if you disobey me. Do you understand?”

He hated her. The pink hair. The bright green eyes. Her firm belief. But Kakashi followed the rules. 

“Yes.”

“Moegi and I are going to visit the site tomorrow and see if we can learn anything more. The bodies were found two days ago, and Shizune finished the autopsy yesterday. I’ll have a copy delivered to you. Meet us at the gate tomorrow at nine. I don’t accept lateness.” 

Kakashi nodded tersely. 

“Do you remember what I once taught you?” Kakashi asked just as she was about to leave.

“What?”

“Those who break the rules are scum,” he recited. “So have no fear, Sakura. I’m won’t go against you.” 

“But those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum,” Sakura said, waiting.

“Yes,” said Kakashi. “I’ll follow you — except then.” 

Sakura hesitated as if she was about to say something, but she only gave him a clipped nod and vanished into the hallway. He lingered a few seconds longer, closing his hand over the cold fingers of the corpse. 

“I’m sorry, Shisui.” 

  
  


❊

  
  
  


The sun bled from the sky, and Tsunade eyed the nearby bottle of sake. She still had another stack of paperwork to get through, but it wasn’t particularly inspiring. She should have never let that idiot boy drag her into playing politics until he was old enough to take over. All his talk about friendship, and he left. 

The worst part? She was losing. She hated losing.

“Tsunade-sama,” Shizune threw open the door, a little out of breath. “Shimura Danzo wants to — ”

“That’s alright, Shizune-san,” the man emerged from behind her. “I can announce myself.” 

Tsunade dismissed her assistant with a nod. She appreciated the attempt at warning her, but there was little that could be done now. 

“This is appointment-only, Danzo,” Tsunade said. “What do you want?” 

“You seem happy to make exceptions all the time.” 

Tsunade narrowed her gaze. “Hokages deal with emergencies. But this doesn’t appear to be one since you’re hardly getting to the point.”

Danzo offered her a short bow. “My apologies, Hokage-sama. I’ve found myself in a… tight situation, and I’ve come up with a solution that could benefit us both.”

“Oh?” Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “Enlighten me.”

“One of my disciples, Sai, has been struggling to return to shinobi life after a difficult mission. He’s currently working as an artist, but I’m at loss at how to help him. Then I learned you were trying to tame Konoha’s best hound. More of a wolf now.”

She raised her hand up, stopping him. “You’ll call one of our highest caliber shinobi a dog?”

“You wouldn’t?” Danzo asked with a smug smile, as if he knew exactly what she had called Hatake. 

“A little respect,” she said mildly. “I’m the Hokage. You’re not.”

He clearly could do with the reminder. 

He cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I believe Sai may have much to learn from him.” 

So he had spies to gauge what she thought of Kakashi. That he had returned. That she was looking to bring him to heel. But no knowledge that she had already found her leash. 

“Unfortunately,” Tsunade began. “I’ve already assigned him to my former student. Sakura’s been struggling to find her footing in a very young organization, and I thought lending his experience to her might benefit them both.” 

It wasn’t entirely a lie. The police had been in disrepair for years after the massacre, and Sakura had fought tooth-and-nail from rookie to detective. She may even benefit from a few of Kakashi’s lessons, but he was no longer the teacher. 

“I see,” said Danzo slowly. “What is Team Seven now? Just Kakashi?” 

She considered another lie, but that would too easily be unraveled. “Sakura too. She’s technically on reserves. We have a war ahead of us.”

“Then I ask you add Sai to their team,” he said. “Every team must have three members. They can remain inactive, but I’m sure a few mandated team practices could benefit all of them.” 

“You’re very concerned about their welfare,” Tsunade observed. 

Danzo smiled. “I want the best for my disciples. And every other man or woman who pledges their life to Konoha.” 

She knew this to be true. Danzo may be ruthless, but he had always acted in Konoha’s best interests. So he must have changed his mind about what those interests were. He no longer agreed with Tsunade. 

“Very well,” she shrugged. “I see no harm in this.” 

If anything, it would give both of them another avenue for their investigation. Another way of understanding the man before her and how he had dug his claws in so deeply into Konoha. Of course, Sai would also be investigating them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays!!! This isn't very in the holiday spirit, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. I've loved all the secret santa fics thrown up recently — definitely a present for all of us. 
> 
> I've never finished watching Naruto, so this isn't really ever going to be an accurate representation of canon events, so bear with me on any political details. Kakashi's pretty different from the more goofy, eccentric portrayal I tend to write, but I've loved writing this darker version. Let me know what you think! 
> 
> And once again, happy holidays! Thank you for all your love and support!


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